Christina Doss Managing Director, Saltmarsh Financial Advisors, LLC
Christina Doss stands outside the beautiful and spacious Saltmarsh offices in East Hill, Pensacola
What is it about living in Northwest Florida that has prepared you for this position? My life here has not only been here in Pensacola but I have also boomeranged all over the place. The groundwork for me has been military. I am the daughter, spouse and mother of war veterans. I’ve spent my whole life, in one capacity or another, representing the military community. As a result, so much of my life has been dependent on growth and adaptation. You learn how to get along with people. Same with my career. It has been about adopting and changing. I’ve worked in the financial sector for over 22 years, through numerous economic expansions and contractions. I’ve had to work with boards of directors and clients, helping them to right-size their situations. It brings a unique perspective to my role with Leadership Florida.
What are you hoping to contribute to LeaF? Well, I have a passion for financial literacy. You could argue that financial literacy is the greatest socioeconomic equalizer that we have, yet it is noticeably lacking from our national and state curriculum. Instead, we rely on the private sector to provide that level of education. In the companies I’ve worked for, we’ve initiated “money matters” programs and other small business education programs for startup businesses. If we were to apply this on a larger scale and help people as well as businesses understand money and finances, the trickle down effect would be huge for helping our economy.
What is the biggest issue facing the state? I think education. When you look at how we rank, we’ve got room for improvement. On the plus side, we attract a very diverse work force. When you look at the zero tax base, low income taxes and a business friendly climate, we really attract a great workforce, including a very highly educated military workforce. The opportunity to leverage those individuals and integrate them into our education is a great one. They would bring a level of real-world experience and knowledge into our educational system that we otherwise wouldn’t have. Use what’s in our backyard to build our education system.
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